


Desolate Feelings Always Come Naturally

by aurorakitty5



Series: Cycling on the Path of Life [8]
Category: Katekyou Hitman Reborn!, Makai Ouji: Devils and Realist
Genre: Gen, Maybe i'm projecting a little too much
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-13
Updated: 2020-04-13
Packaged: 2021-03-02 02:08:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,175
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23627446
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aurorakitty5/pseuds/aurorakitty5
Summary: He knew something was off.Whether it was him or the rest of the world remained to be seen.
Series: Cycling on the Path of Life [8]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1443277
Comments: 4
Kudos: 91
Collections: Blank Slate 2.0, Identity Crisis





	Desolate Feelings Always Come Naturally

* * *

He had the wrong fire.

No matter what the rest of the Arcobaleno believed, no matter how many times they tried to tell him or otherwise inform him, he knew his fire was wrong. He knew they were supposed to be red, a dark, black tinged red. His purple flames, the ones he could use, felt alien.

When he was younger, he always knew the rules when it came to fire. Don't touch it, don't play with it, don't get near it. He was the smartest kid in his class, he knew the dangers and the caution placed around fire.

It all seemed human, not that he knew of other views.

When his purple flames activated, he felt the beginnings of anger, a cold sort of disdain only born from having wished for what he knew was his yet receiving the wrong thing. It was as if he had asked for something for his birthday, outlined every single detail, every little thing, yet received the exact opposite. It was like a crushing weight was just put on his shoulders.

Going off to university in Italy had been a curse, but also a blessing-in-disguise. He got involved in the darker side of life, the cool curses of lies, deceit, and occasionally murder. It didn't bother him, trivial emotions such as fear never really mattered to him unless he could use them to his advantage. His wrong-flames had their uses, could get him into higher places and gave him more respect. Even with these benefits, he rarely used them, the feeling of wrong grew stronger with every use.

He wasn't religious, the only section that held a sliver of his interest would be the Old Testament, the story of King Solomon and his 72 pillars. He was lucky he was born into an accepting family, but he knew of the problems he might have if he showed such a blasé attitude when working with his _associates_.

After graduating at the top of his class, he threw himself into stunt work, slowly climbing until he reached the top. His business classes helped him run a successful operation, ensuring he wouldn't have to rely on any grand loans that could spell trouble later on. He ruled the show business, bringing in major contracts and high profile shows that would be the talk of the news. It was oddly reminiscent of something, though he could never quite place his finger on it.

Checkerface was one of the very few people who intrigued him, brought out something dark he hadn't touched in years, not since his stint in the dark underbelly of society. There was no mention of flames, but he could sense that they were involved, a shrill alarm going off in his head.

It seemed as if they only gave him trouble.

The Arcobaleno were pathetic, at least as far as he was concerned. There was no cooperation, no teamwork, not even the slightest hint of being a singular unit. While they may have been the "strongest" flame users, if they couldn't work together their title meant nothing, just a pile of pretty words. If there was no team, why bother. It annoyed him, he had much better things to be doing other than working with a bunch of children. He would accept partial blame due to the fact that his mask was so obnoxious, but the rest was all them.

He could tell they knew something more about his flames, but they weren't telling him. Whether that was out of spite or a sheer lack of intellect, he wasn't entirely sure. However, he knew that if he asked, he would be put in a place even lower than he already was, which wouldn't end in his favor. There were things he would do to get information, but lowering himself to them and giving into their silent wishes was the last thing he would do.

He would just have to wonder alone.

The betrayal of the Sky Arcobaleno came as no surprise. He could feel her flames, her sickly, rotten, candy sweet flames pulling on his. He just closed himself off, his one concession regarding his flames that he didn't regret. While the curse hurt, hurt worse than the human mind could process, he was consciously battling her flames through the process, unable to even _think_ about creating a bond with them, a forced bond even less so. It paid off in the end, as he was the one who didn't have to deal with her frustrations and her utter lack of empathy regarding the group she just bound to servitude.

There was no bond between them like there was with the others, so why did it matter that he just stuck it out?

After escaping, he ran away until he couldn't feel the pickling of the other flames. He felt relieved that because he didn't bond with Luce's flames, he wasn't a part of the Sky that included the rest of the Arcobaleno. That meant that it would be much more difficult for the rest of the Arcobaleno to try and find him, regardless of the fact that he gave all of them his number. Or, well, his burner number.

Let it be said that he trusted nobody but himself.

With the occasional job being forced upon him and running the Carcassa Family behind everyone's back, he could begin to finally appreciate his life a little more. He had the money, had the influence, had the power, had everything that drew him to people in the first place. He was almost at the top of the chain, and while he was annoyed at the fact that he wasn't quite totally on top, he could feel his agitation soothe itself with every passing day.

That is, until he was called out to a questionably important Arcobaleno meeting.

The Battle of the Rainbow hardly came as a surprise. He had known of the dangerous power lurking underneath Checkerface's figurative and literal mask. It was the fact that he needed to have people on his team that drew his surprise, whether genuine or not. His deep involvement inside the Carcassa Family needed to be kept on the down-low, which meant his only option was a call to Enma. Hopefully that would be enough for him to survive longer than one round and to keep his mask together.

His awakening after the curse was broken was a genuine surprise however, though not an unwanted one.

Stretching, he rolled his eyes at the shock the humans (and Checkerface) had, most likely due to the surge of power he gave off and his appearance change. Cracking his neck, he called up his flames, the bright amethyst color slowly darkening and changing to a familiar dark red and black, a tiny quirk of his lips as the only sign of his satisfaction. Quickly jumping in the air, Dantalion, the Grand Duke of Hell, returned to his abode, work to be done and people to greet once more.

Regret was such a human emotion, wasn't it?

* * *

**Author's Note:**

> Maybe I'm projecting too much.
> 
> For the future, I think as long as it doesn't come from my (very old) prompt list, I won't include the usual end notes.


End file.
